Laptop WiFi manual

[Karl Larsen]

Erich Zigler wrote:
> On Sat, 14 Jul 2007 07:55:58 -0600 Karl Larsen <k5di at zianet.com> wrote:
>
>   
>>     I have been working on this and I think it's close.
>>     
>
> Please see feedback inline...
>
>   
>> I:    First you MUST learn what the name of your WiFi hardware. This
>> can usually be done from a root Terminal and you call # lspci. This
>> will print a list of all the pci things in your laptop. Here is part
>> of mine.
>> 00:09.0 Ethernet controller: Atheros Communications, Inc. AR5212 
>> 802.11abg NIC (rev 01)
>> 00:0a.0 CardBus bridge: Texas Instruments PCI7420 CardBus Controller
>> 00:0f.0 IDE interface: ALi Corporation M5229 IDE (rev c4)
>> 00:12.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. 
>> RTL-8139/8139C/8139C+ (rev 10)
>> This is what my SONY laptop printed out from lspci. Notice there are
>> two items called Ethernet controller. But notice the Atheros says it
>> handles 802.11abg which is what WiFi is, So now we know this laptop
>> has hardware made by Atheros Communications, Inc.
>>     
>
> I like this step. It would solve a lot of issues for people who don't
> know what wireless card they have.
>
>   
>> II:    The second step is easy. You need to find out what Linux
>> software is written for your hardware. The easiest is a great web
>> page at:
>> http://linux-wless.passys.nl/
>> If a reader knows about other Linux software please write. If you
>> have a laptop that is working and you forgot what you did, do this:
>> # lsmod and find the ones that sound like wifi stuff. Or look at 
>> /etc/modprobe.conf and you should see them there. 
>>     
>
> Again... I like this step it is a valuable resource.
>
>   
>> III:    Now find a kernel that has your drivers in module form. Start 
>> with your current kernel and as root type modprobe ath_pci in my
>> case. If nothing happens your lucky, your kernel has the driver you
>> need. Check with # lsmod and see what modules were installed. A more
>> general case modprobe says "no such file". Then you need to find a
>> kernel with your modules. Try older and newer kernels.
>>     
>
> This step does not make any sense to me. Your manual jumps from finding
> out what driver you have to trying to load it. If you have a wireless
> card natively supported by the kernel this step is not needed as it is
> loaded automatically. For some of the more popular cards that are not
> included in the kernel I would point the user to RPM repositories such
> as livna and walk them through the installation process that way. The
> madwifi RPM's for example perform all the steps needed in getting the
> module loaded.
>
>   
>> IV:    There is a new network system available in at least Fedora
>> Core 6 and Fedora 7 called NetworkManager. You will want to set that
>> up at least on your laptop. I have it on both computers. Caution!
>> Turn off network if your using NetworkManager.
>>     Do this, cd /etc/rc.d/init.d/ and you will see a lot of
>> applications listed. Now as root do # chkconfig network off and then
>> # chkconfig NetworkManager on and # chkconfig
>> NetworkManagerDispatcher on. Reboot and the new system will be
>> working.
>>     
>
> Shouldn't this be step V? You need the driver loaded before you
> configure the Network?
>
>   
>> V:    If you have the right kernel you can now use # modprobe ath_pci 
>> and that will work. Look at the two tiny computers near your name on
>> the top edge and click on them. It will tell you about what it is
>> doing. Also use the # nm-tool which will show you what Internet it is
>> working on and what is turned off. Often your laptop will suddenly
>> have wifi Internet. This is a good moment.
>>     
>
> modprobe ath_pci is not needed if you use a madwifi RPM as it is all
> loaded automatically for you.
>
> In addition this manual does not cover how to configure the wireless
> network in NetworkManager it is assumed that it magically starts
> working without any configuration.
>
> My two cents. 
>
> - Erich
>
>   
    Thanks Erich and I will look again. I think a couple of things are 
out of place for sure. A new cut will come soon with your corrections. 
THANKS!

Karl